Ambury Park Centre for Riding Therapy is a registered private school that offers core subjects in the NZ curriculum plus riding and horse management qualifications.
Most of the 25 to 30 students in the school could be described as "school refusers". These are children aged 13 to 18 who, for a variety of reasons, are not coping in, or have been failed by, mainstream education.
At Ambury Park, students receive a high level of one-on-one or small group instruction support from qualified teachers and teacher aides.
Each student follows a programme that is individually tailored to identified needs and abilities. The goal is to assist all students back into mainstream education, on to tertiary study, or into the workforce.
Riding therapy challenges riders with a variety of difficulties. The regular rhythmical movement of the horse enables therapists to work with riders to develop mobility and muscle control.
In order to ride them, horses need to be groomed, fed and cared for. A unique bond therefore develops between the student and the horse, which becomes an agent for change and a medium for therapy.
Clear guidelines are given to the full-time students, outlining the expected standard of behaviour at school, and students are well supported in their efforts to meet them. Good behaviour is rewarded with a range of prizes and privileges, such as a day off jobs or an extra ride out. On the other hand, students who choose to disregard the behavioural guidelines are given a consequence such as extra pooperscooping at lunch-time. If a student continues to misbehave, riding lessons may be withdrawn for a period – the threat of which is often enough to effect change.